Robert Griffin III of the Washington Redskins, shown here last season, is back at practice after knee surgery. / Patrick McDermott, Getty Images

by Jim Corbett, USA TODAY Sports

by Jim Corbett, USA TODAY Sports

ASHBURN, Va. - Robert Griffin III threw with good zip and accuracy to a group of rehabbing Washington Redskins players at the start of Thursday practice.

More significantly, the second-year quarterback looked better than anyone might imagine only 4½ months after surgery to reconstruct torn ligaments in his right knee. He has been throwing since late April.

Griffin said he hopes to be ready for the opening of training camp July 25 and still has his sights set on being the Week 1 starter.

"As far as the season goes, everyone has seen the commercials and the statements of 'All in for Week 1,' and I stand behind that. I want to be ready for Week 1, that's my goal," he said.

"But I'm not going to risk my career to play in one game."

The road to recovery had an emotional start. Going into surgery on Jan. 9, orthopedist James Andrews didn't know the extent of the damage to the ACL, which Griffin previously torn in college. Upon waking up and realizing his ACL had been repaired as well, he broke into tears.

"It was tough for me to talk about. It's one of those things I get emotional about because it was tough at that time. Yeah, I cried, real men cry. It doesn't matter. And I moved on.''

The next thing he did was change the passcode on his cellphone to the date of the Redskins season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 9.

At practice, Griffin wore a heavier black-brace than the one he wore late last season after he suffered a strained lateral collateral ligament in Week 14 against the Baltimore Ravens. He said he is two weeks from cutting loose with explosive sprinting and cutting.

"The knee feels great," he said. "I'm able to do all the stuff out there without any hesitation. That's the best part about it.

While Griffin hopes to play in the preseason, he could see himself starting in the regular-season opener without taking a preseason snap.

In the meantime, the good news is that backup Kirk Cousins continues to impress and show growth in getting the majority of first-team snaps, even running some read option.

"It's a great opportunity for me even if Robert comes back tomorrow ready to go, the fact that I got reps for the first three practices is of great benefit to me," Cousins said. "Obviously, I want to see Robert to come back as healthy and as strong as ever."

As for the circumstances that led to his injury, Griffin "hashed everything out" with coach Mike Shanahan about a month after the procedure. Griffin suffered the injury after re-entering the playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks when it was clear his knee was already compromised.

"I don't think there's anything that needs to be repaired (in his relationship with Shanahan) . Obviously, we all just need to move forward and continue to let that bad taste that's in everybody's mouth just get out, Griffin said.

"The only thing that needed repair from last year is my knee. And that is repaired and I'm ready to go."

Griffin admitted there is some lingering concern with how he'll be handled going forward.

"I just feel like everyone is going to be really hyper-sensitive about anything that happens to me," Griffin said. "My biggest fear is that I roll an ankle and they pull me out of the game. That's something I have to deal with now."

Shanahan echoed that thought, "Robert will be the first guy to tell you I'm going to be a little more conservative than I was a year ago," Shanahan said. "If you're not on the field you're going to hurt our football team. And you have to throw the football away.

"We're going to protect Robert as much as we can. And we're going to do the things we think he does the best and hopefully it will be as productive."

So Redskins can rest easy knowing the read-option will remain a part of the offense.

"The read-option gave Robert more time in the pocket," Shanahan said. "He got hurt when he was dropping back."